By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Strolling in the square

Take a look at the haiku

Choose your favorite

Visitors to Baldwin Canal Square in the village of Baldwinsville will notice a series of signs bearing short poems. These are the results of the Baldwinsville Center for the Arts’ haiku contest, which took place earlier this summer.

BCA Board President Jim Dale said the organization received 157 entries and awarded prizes to winners in four age brackets. Thirty-six entries — “what we considered to be the best of the bunch,” Dale said — are on display in Baldwin Canal Square behind Key Bank.

“There’s four paths that lead down to the fountain, so we did nine lawn signs flanking each of the entrances,” Dale said.

Each haiku is numbered and the signs contain QR codes allowing mobile phone users to navigate to the BCA’s website to cast a vote.

“Over the Labor Day weekend we’ll announce the community favorite,” Dale said.

The writer of the community favorite will win an additional prize.

Visit baldwinsvillearts.org to vote for your favorite haiku and see the judges’ picks.

Looking ahead

While the coronavirus pandemic has put a damper on many of the BCA’s planned activities, the show must go on. Dale said the BCA is planning a pumpkin carving contest for this fall, which will start in September.

As with the haiku contest, the organization is hoping to display entries in the village and award prizes to winners in various age brackets.

“That will take the place of the Ghost Walk,” he said. “We’ve been trying to find out a way to have recorded ghost stories told as you come in to view the pumpkins.”

The center’s popular Ghost Walk is a spooky historical walking tour of the village of Baldwinsville that has taken place in October for the last few years. Since the event draws groups of dozens of people, social distancing is not possible, so the BCA decided to cancel this year’s Ghost Walk.

Dale said long-term event planning is difficult in a pandemic, but he added, “Life isn’t at a total standstill.”

“We’re going to use the remainder of the year … to try to bolster our next year’s calendar,” he said. “We’re going to look for additional funding this year and see if we can’t round up some grants … so that 2021 can be bigger and better. Of course, that’s all dependent on the pandemic.”

For updates about BCA events and information about donations and volunteer opportunities, visit baldwinsvillearts.org.